Tuesday 9/23/08 - Day two (post #3)

Day two of the commuting: well to say that today started any better than yesterday ended would be a lie. So where did I leave off, hmmm…oh yeah my book being lost. Ok so this morning at 5:30am I start to get out of bed when I got that very sick feeling like I might have lost more than just my book yesterday. I reach for my purse and low and behold I have. No only did I lose my book I have also lost my TRAIN PASS! Ok people those things are not cheap. I lost it. Of course KP kept me sane and helped me out. So with another pass in hand (No Amtrak does not reimburse you for lost or stolen passes) I headed for the station. Today I was a bit more tired then yesterday and I really did not feel like talking. I hoped on the train, sat in my usual spot…yes I have a usual spot. What so who cares if I have only taken the train once you can still have a usual spot. Ok, so I sat down in my usual spot…umm yeah so actually it turns out that it was not the same seat I sat in yesterday I landed up next to the potty. Which of course is not a bad thing, since I never put on make up or do my hair in the morning before I get on board. Oh well, I guess maybe I can make this my usual spot, right?

On to the people, remember I said I did not feel like talking so I sat down pulled out Anthony’s ipod and my memory foam travel neck pillow. Yes, I am that cool! So in walks (let’s call him) Sleepy guy with a raiders tattoo and he sites with me. I should probably tell you that I like to sit in the seat reserved for parties of 4 (two seats next to each other facing two other seats.) Yes, I realize that I am only one person…but who cares. Sleep guy proceeded to SLEEP…can you believe it? Here I am sitting there ready to talk and he goes to sleep. Ok, so then I went to sleep. Next, after sleepy guy got off at his station I was visited by Skinny guy with crazy scary clown tattoo. He was quiet for about two stops and then when we got to Anaheim he started to talk pictures of the big A. I asked if it was his first time here and he said no…he grew up here but it had been like 8 years since his last visit. This guy had little to say, but I did find out he grew up in Laguna Beach and now lives in Portland and HATES IT. He is a surfer at heart and says the water is so cold there and the beaches suck.

PM Commute – Today was different because I stayed in LA last night. Instead of taking the Amtrak home I got the pleasure of riding the Metrolink. Now some people – my dad – would say that figuring out how to get from one place to another on the metro is easy. For me it makes me anxious. After much anxiety I found my first train. It was the purple line subway to my next connection. Have you ever seen the Harry Potter where the bus comes screaming down the street and comes to a immediate stop and that shrunken head guys says Hi Harry…or something like that. Well EVERY time I am about to get on the subway and the doors open I just expect to see this shrunken head guy pop out. Now I have to go from the Purple to the Blue line. The Blue is hmm how should I explain this? I’ll just tell you where it goes through…downtown LA, Arlington, Watts, Compton, Inglewood…should I go on?

Set Scene:
Large African American woman on my left directly
Larger African American man behind me
In walks skinny sort of young AA girl.
“Hey girl, wherez you going? LG AA W said
“Huh, do I know you?” S AA G said
“What you mean, remember (insert inner city school here)? LG AA W
“Oh shit yeah, howz you doing?” S AA G
“I’m good. Howz your brotha?” LG AA W
“Oh girl did you hear he got shot?” S AA G
“No girl, where?” LG AA W
“He got shot in the leg, but he al right. Did you hear about (insert inner city kids name here)?” S AA W
“No girl, what happened to him? LG AA W
“Oh girl he got shot, he dead.” S AA W
“Oh shit! Hey Mike…did you hear that (same name as above) got shot?” “Yo I think I did hear that shit.” LG AA M

Yes at this time I cringed and said many a prayer that I was going to get home safely. 7pm pull into the Redondo Beach station. Ahh home.

Casualty day 2: my 10 day train ticket